Lets Root for Anti-inflammatorys

Being someone who suffered from chronic inflammation for many years and continually came up short with any Rx or over-the-counter drug, it's no wonder why I have a special place in my heart for any natural anti-inflammatory. So if you're like me and have long given up on popping pills to relieve inflammation, then you're in luck because hands down nature has the best anti-inflammatorys around.

Fear not though, you won't have to Root around very long to find some of these little natural wonders. Actually many of them are right there in your spice rack, and if you buy organic food products, spices in this case, and you're actually using them, then you're definitely getting some of their benefits.

Why stop (short) there though... when a recipe calls for "freshly grated" or "freshly chopped" or "freshly minced" spices then do your food and your health a favor and use the actual root. One of the most commonly called for (fresh spices) and conveniently enough commonly offered "roots" is the ginger root, and take it from someone who cooks/eats homemade meals every day... it's well worth the minuscule amount of extra effort it takes to substitute a couple of shakes of dried powder with the fresh stuff, and the difference in flavor will amaze you.

Since health is always my first priority though, ending with the flavor benefits would be, well, incomplete to say the least. The fact is, studies show that ginger root has many therapeutic properties one of which is the ability to inhibit the formation of inflammatory compounds as well as having direct anti-inflammatory effects. Ginger has been used for thousands of years for alleviating gastrointestinal problems (gas to be exact) as well as to aid the digestion process. More recent studies confirm these beneficial qualities by proving ginger to be far superior to Dramamine (or equivalent drugs) for preventing symptoms associated with motion sickness and especially those of sea sickness.

It's true that organic processed foods are no doubt superior to non-organic processed foods, but the fact is that these processes, whether preformed to Organic standards or not, deplete foods of some of their nutritional properties. So remember, fresh is always best whenever possible.